Think of football in the Catalan capital Barcelona, and the self named giant of the game will instantly spring to mind, even if the roundball game isn’t your interest. Everyone knows FC Barcelona, its reach is global, its commercialisation of the brand is colossal. Being an alternative option to such a club isn’t easy, and … Continue reading Viva Europa
Author: tbcharrua
Summer Par-ty
Just three days after the last ball of 2022/23 was kicked in anger (almost literally, over the bar by Kvaradona) at soggy Hampden amid a tropical storm and a rain delayed fiasco, I found myself heading across the River Forth en route to an opening joust of the new season! Okay it was just a … Continue reading Summer Par-ty
Lifting Levante
Let me start by saying, Spanish football isn’t my world. Somehow if you are a Calcio fan and love Italy, Spain sits as the direct rival, and indeed you will often hear mutterings of discontent in an International or European game if the ref happens to be from Espana. That isn’t to say that in … Continue reading Lifting Levante
Copa Libertadores Recollections
I have been lucky in life, and getting to watch any football abroad is considered a privilege. As the Copa Libertadores starts up now for the 2023 diet, I thought I would research some recollections of the 26 games I have had the opportunity to watch, thus far in a 2002 to 2015 period in … Continue reading Copa Libertadores Recollections
Lecco Land
Anyone familiar with the Isle of Man flag will know it has a three legged symbol in the centre, and while not exactly identical, the angles are all different, Lake Como has three legs too, the Larian triangle as it is known . It was on the shores of this magnificent lake that I first … Continue reading Lecco Land
Ospiti views from Fiorenzuola
A little vignette of this piece will form part of FW editors tales from the magazine's trip to Milan, but I have buffed it up as my recollection of a day that will live long on my memory. The Football Weekends magazine 10 (the number in our party) left Milan Centrale on a misty, drizzly … Continue reading Ospiti views from Fiorenzuola
The World in Motion
It was fully my intention to give a total boycott to Qatar 2022. It was relatively easy whilst in Istanbul with my girl, but occasionally we’d be in a restaurant or a coffee shop where someone was watching. A one man crusade seemed futile, and I became conflicted that this hideous event was increasingly going … Continue reading The World in Motion
Turkish Delight
What would you cite as your most random game ever watched? Perhaps such an occasion arrived on your CV almost by accident. Well that’s what happened to me while in Istanbul during the World Cup. I did get a morsel more notice than the day I was dropped off outside my hotel in Riga with … Continue reading Turkish Delight
Virtuoso Mantovani Times
Tucked in on the Eastern edges of Lombardia, Mantova is one of the unsung gems of the region. That said, Lombardia, and neighbouring Veneto are both teeming with sumptuous cities (as well as every region of this beautiful country), but while Mantova might not be amongst the most well known, it is truly a fabulous … Continue reading Virtuoso Mantovani Times
Criss-Crossing Taranto
Within a few hours of my arrival in Taranto, having sat down to enjoy an outdoor meal in the baking heat of mid-October, I found myself posting some photos of the city on my social media with the addition of, “someone take this man’s passport away for goodness sake, Taranto is A-MAZ-ING, and in my … Continue reading Criss-Crossing Taranto










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